Time
by ariadne melody
Summary: S/E. A version of the events of 2.16


A variation on 2.16

Normal was good. Normal was reassuring. Unfortunately, at the moment normal meant school, and Stefan was thoroughly against going to school if it meant he and Elena had to get out of bed. Despite her increasingly half-hearted protests, he continued to tickle her and stroke her and kiss her as they sank back down onto the bed. Elena's giggles turned into moans and they were soon entangled again.

"So much for a leisurely, healthy breakfast," Elena smiled as she stroked Stefan's back, ran a hand through his hair.

"So much for breakfast at all," Stefan sighed against her chest.

"You are such a bad influence."

"Can't say you're any better," Stefan retorted, running his hands over her body. Elena's smile broadened and she closed her eyes, enjoying the way his nimble fingers skimmed across her body.

"We should really get going though," she said after a while. "If we're actually going to go to school."

"We have time," Stefan muttered and didn't move.

"Not all of us can dress at the speed of lightening," she bantered.

Yet they didn't move. Stefan continued to nuzzle his head against Elena's chest, mulling over the idea of staying if bed all day, of making up for lost time, wondering how many days Elena could miss without the school calling Jenna. Or Jenna getting concerned, for that matter. "Okay, I'm getting dressed now," Elena announced.

"You're not moving."

"Seriously. I'm going to get up, shower- alone- and get dressed. We're going to school and learn stuff and eat lunch with people and learn more stuff."

"How about after school?" Stefan smiled and kissed her forehead, rubbed her neck.

"I think I have some free time then," Elena grinned and rolled out from underneath him, scrambled off the bed. Giggling, she wrapped his shirt around her and darted into his bathroom. Stefan groaned but got off the bed, resigned to the fact that they would go to school, like normal people, and not engage in more enjoyable activities. Stefan enjoyed learning, had numerous degrees, and yet could not be less excited about traipsing around Mystic Falls High.

"Stefan."

He turned to see Elena poking her head out from behind the door, a sly grin on her face.

"You should really hurry if you want to shower before school," her grin broadened. "And I just remembered the importance of water conservation..."

She shrieked as he picked her up and carried her to the tub.

"What happened to showering alone?" he murmured as he kissed her again and again.

"Changed my mind."

Elena stumbled out of the bathroom, her freshly dried hair swinging in front of her face as she searched for her shoes. "Stefan, we're late for school," she complained and saw that Stefan was holding her shoes.

"Let's be later," he suggested and tossed her shoes to the side.

"Stefan, it's school, you know the thing we keep forgetting about-" is all she's able to get out before he's caught her and kisses her face while steering them towards the bed.

"School? That doesn't ring a bell," he murmured, a hand sliding down her back.

"Stefan," she tried but they're already falling back onto the bed yet again and she's reaching for his shirt to take it off.

"Okay, five minutes," she sighed as his lips attacked her neck. Winner of this round: Stefan.

"Five minutes," he half laughed and half groaned, his hands already underneath her shirt. "Let's see what we can do, then."

He had her clothes off in a matter of seconds, had her moaning his name in less than a minute.

She fumed in the car, openly glaring at the passing surroundings. Katherine in the Salvatore house, in Stefan's house, in Stefan's bedroom. Her hands clenched into fists as she pictured Katherine in Stefan's room, Katherine's hands on Stefan's desk, going through his journals and reading them, laughing whenever she found something about Elena. Katherine finding the clothing that Elena kept there and perhaps wearing it to attempt to fool people. Katherine lounging on Stefan's bed... Katherine, Katherine, Katherine.

"Hey," Stefan said softly, one of his hands touching her thigh gently. "Are you all right?"

She exhaled, finding comfort in his touch. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"I... I didn't mean to hurt you," Stefan's voice dropped. "I don't know why-"

"Katherine made you think that way," Elena stated flatly. "And, Stefan, don't worry, I know you know me." She forced out a laugh. "Tongue twister."

Stefan didn't smile. "I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault," Elena squeezed his hand. "It was Katherine's- again. And hey, no harm done, right?"

He briefly glanced at her, studied her neck, didn't let go of her hand. "I just... I know you. I know everything about you, your scent, your breath. Katherine's not the least bit like you, so I don't know why-"

"You panicked," Elena offered. "You weren't thinking clearly. It happens."

He nodded again, falling silent. For the rest of the drive Elena stroked his hand, gently tickled the inside of his wrist, determined not to think about Katherine anymore. That didn't last long.

"But why is she still here?" she asked in a petulant tone as they got out of the car. "She was free. She could be halfway to Russia right now."

"She says she wants to help with the whole Klaus thing," Stefan shrugged and wrapped an arm around Elena's waist as they started walking.

"She says," Elena grumbled. "Why don't I believe her?"

"Her track record aside, she does have a reason for wanting Klaus dead," Stefan pointed out.

"And a reason for wanting me dead."

"I don't think-"

"I know she can help, but it's not like I want her shacking up with you," Elena said in a rush, her cheeks reddening.

Stefan bit back a smile, determined not to show his amusement at the jealous tone in her voice. Out of all the things she was worried about, this was one of them? Figuring she wouldn't appreciate a comment about how adorable her jealous voice sounded, he opted for, "Maybe I should stay with you tonight."

Pouting, she said, "No, I promised Caroline and Bonnie a Girls' Night. Caroline's having Matt issues and Bonnie's still freaked about losing her powers."

Stefan kissed the top of her head. "Some other night."

"Definitely," Elena sighed and leaned against him. "I have some time after school, I could help out with research."

"Research party it is."

"What a party it will be."

After school Elena couldn't believe how tired she was. It wasn't as though she had missed that many days, but she had somewhat forgotten, in crisis mode, just how tiring mundane activities could be. Taking notes, solving equations, all the while trying not to freak out about Klaus and Katherine. She envied Caroline, who seemed to go through the day with grace and ease, with a ready smile on her face and boundless energy, no sign of inner turmoil whatsoever. Even Bonnie, who was obviously upset and confused with the loss of her powers, projected a certain serenity and calmness throughout the day. Elena knew that that night things would be different, that she would be the strong supportive friend who provided a shoulder to cry on and more chocolate sauce for the ice cream, but during school she couldn't get over how Caroline and Bonnie managed to seem, well, normal.

"Did you see the look on Alaric's face when we walked in?" Stefan laughed slightly.

"I think you mean Mr. Saltzman," Elena teased. "We should tell him the whole shocked look really doesn't suit him."

"Apparently there was a rumor going around that we had run off to get married in Vegas."

"I heard that you and Tyler Lockwood had joined some kind of cult, and I was trying to track you down."

"That's almost as good as the one I heard about the traveling circus."

"It's not like we were gone for that long," Elena rolled her eyes. "I definitely did not miss going to Physics, though."

"Can't say I missed the dulcet sounds of Wohlever's voice either."

They both hesitated before entering Stefan's house, each dreading another Katherine encounter. Elena glanced at Stefan, who was gazing at the door with resignation and just a little bit of uneasiness. Finally, holding hands, they walked inside, went to the living room where the Gilbert journals were. Damon and Katherine were both there, both staring at a journal like they expected Jonathan Gilbert to spring out from the pages and start talking.

Damon looked up. "Come to join the fun?" he said, the sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"You have an odd idea of fun," Stefan mumbled, staring at the carelessly stacked pile of journals. "Have you actually been reading those or just skimming?"

"I'll have you know I read all of those masterpieces. No offense, Elena, but you have one weird ancestor."

"Didn't you know that already?" muttered Elena.

Katherine chose that moment to finally look up, a smile on her face. "Stefan, Elena, how was school? Did you learn a lot?" she chirped.

Ignoring her, Stefan asked Damon, "Any useful information so far?"

"Well-"

"Lots of interesting stuff about you, Stefan," Katherine smirked, her eyes on Elena. Stefan didn't have to look at Elena to know her whole body had tensed.

"I'll be upstairs," Elena said, picking up a random journal before quietly walking out of the room.

"Better go take care of her," Katherine said. "I bet she's a whole lot of fun when she's angry."

Stefan didn't even glare at Katherine as he hurried out of the room after Elena, following her to the stairs. He placed a hand on her shoulder as they walked, tried to reassure her. At the door Elena immediately went for the bed.

"I don't like her being here," she stated flatly, drawing her knees up to rest her chin on them. Stefan raised his eyebrows and put a finger to his lips as he closed the door. "I don't care if she can hear me," Elena continued. "I'm sure she knows my feelings about her."

"Probably a safe bet," Stefan said as he settled next to her on the bed.

"It was so creepy walking in and seeing her," Elena grumbled. She untucked her legs and flopped back onto the bed, sighed loudly. "Just as creepy as this morning. Why is her hair still straight, anyways? Doesn't she normally have curly hair? Why is she still wearing her hair like mine?" she ranted, knowing she sounded jealous and slightly insane.

Stefan peered down at her and ran his hand through her hair. "It's not exactly like yours. It's less.. nice."

Elena snorted.

"No, seriously," Stefan, half-joking and half-serious, leaned over her, one hand stroking her face. "I love your hair. And I bet," he said as he nuzzled his face to her neck, "that hers' doesn't smell half as great as yours does."

"It's your shampoo," Elena rolled her eyes but couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face as he kissed her.

"I have good taste in shampoo," Stefan smirked as his body settled on top of hers and they settled in for a nice, long make-out session. Elena wrapped her arms around Stefan's back, her legs splaying apart as he slipped his hands beneath her shirt. With a grin she managed to push them so she was staring down at him, laughing at the somewhat surprised look on his face. The startled look quickly turned to lust as she pulled her shirt off and leaned over him to kiss him, her breasts in her black lace bra (one of his favorites) grazing his chest. While he stared at her she pulled his shirt off and flung it to the side before greedily sliding her hands over his chest as their lips met again.

"Interesting definition of research."

Elena and Stefan sprang up on the bed as Katherine spoke from the doorway. She leaned against it, looking highly amused as Elena almost fell off the bed and Stefan scrambled to grab her.

"Please don't let me stop you," Katherine commented dryly. "Continue, by all means. I just came to look for something... oh, there it is," she said, her eyes on the Gilbert journal Elena had left on Stefan's bedside table.

Damon suddenly appeared, stopped Katherine from entering the room. "Sorry, Stefan, Elena, it won't happen again."

"Seriously, get her out of her," Stefan ordered as he reached for the journal while maintaining a firm hold on Elena. He tossed it to Damon.

"You know, it's really not fair for you guys to play while we toil away..."

"Damon-"

"Come on Katherine, let's go."

"And shouldn't you be a tad more concerned with this? It's your life, after all," Katherine remarked airily to Elena. Stefan felt Elena stiffen and he had the desperate urge to throw Katherine down a vervain infested well.

"Hands off, Damon, I'm going, I'm going," Katherine muttered. She turned to leave, then turned back with a smile. "By the way, Stefan, it's nice to see you haven't changed. Corset or bra, you still prefer black lace, I see-"

Damon roughly grabbed her and practically threw her away from the door. Before closing it, he said quietly, "Maybe you should lock your door."

Stefan sighed, slightly relaxed his hold on Elena who remained still in his arms.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Elena stared at the door, her lips pressed together in a tight line, her eyes irritated and slightly fearful. "Maybe you should just move in with me," she said finally.

"She was just trying to provoke us," Stefan offered lamely.

"She's gonna provoke me into staking her to a chair if she's not careful."

"I vote for vervain well. Or some sort of sunlight torture."

"Something like that."

They fell into silence. Elena let her head drop to rest on Stefan's shoulder as he rubbed her back slowly, trying to ease the tension that lingered in her body. He didn't really know what was worse, Katherine's taunts, her jabs at Elena's recent suicidal thoughts, her hints about their past. Hell, he had half a mind to take Elena and rive away again, away from Mystic Falls and Katherine, and just hide somewhere. He was contemplating the appeal of New Zealand when Elena sighed again.

"Baby?"

"I'm fine, really," she said into her shoulder. "She's just so... whatever, I'm fine," she raised her head, looked at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, caressed her face again. Elena gently pushed him onto his back and curled on top of him, traced his tattoo thoughtfully.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Have you always preferred black lace?"

Stefan nearly choked. "Um..."

"It's fine if you do," Elena sighed, struggling to keep the grin off her face. "I just hope you like red too. And fuchsia. Oh, and cream."

"I like anything that's on you. Or the things I get to take off you."

"Good," Elena began to kiss his chest. "Because I went shopping before the weekend for... stuff."

"Stuff."

"Lacy stuff."

"Ah."

"I didn't get a chance to show you, what with everything," Elena moved to kiss his face but continued to stroke his stomach. She leaned to whisper into his ear, "There's still a few hours before I have to leave..."

She let out a loud giggle as Stefan flipped them over, began to leave a trail of kisses from her neck to her breasts. "We can get a lot done in a few hours," he murmured against her stomach.

"Considering what we can do in five minutes."


End file.
